Proteus - Ghosts (Book Seven)

By Alexander Nassau

"Life is starting to settle down once again. With the help rendered from the Alphians the Apeyron civilisation is starting to rebuild finding new worlds to resettle their population. As the Seleke Council approve the creation of new ships, tension grows at the Proteus family rebel against the Grand Council in an effort to earn their rights.
However when technology on Beletrix starts to malfunction, tensions rise, the finger of blame for these dangerous errors are pointed at the Apeyron with a theory they may have planted a virus.
There is something not right with the theory as the errors seem far too random and when the Seltus Shipyard goes in to lock down, the automation systems running amok, it is down to the irascible, under appreciated technical support specialist Issi Rem to try and solve this crisis and get to the bottom of this mystery and learn the truth of what really is causing these errors."

The first part of the Natural Selection Saga, Ghost's is an action pack tense thriller with a distinctly comical side as we follow the overworked, grumpy and arrogant Issi Rem as she tries to get to the bottom of a crisis that is threatening Verlon City, an artificially intelligent virus that has infected the Beletrix network. With the help of Zenni, Saya, Talishia, Tath, Sellie and Tamu, this unlikely group are dragged in to a dark situation with the most unlikely of endings.
Also included is a five page overview and fact file of the Seltus Shipyards and project Valkryia.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Alexander Nassau
• Release date: Oct 16, 2017
• ISBN: 9781370200719

Alexander Nassau

November News: I know it has been a while and this is probably a surprise, but I have finally released a new book. Alphius Prime - Of Beasts and Monsters is an epic fantasy style book set on the world of Alphius Prime more familiar with my fans for being in Symbiotica and Proteus. Set in a medieval world you follow the epic journey of Echo Sana and her rather unusual family she was adopted by... unusual in that they are Kinar Beasts. There is a free preview to be had, so take a look and I hope you enjoy! I am pleased to see that I am currently rated as a 4.5 out of 5.0 Author on Good Reads. Thank you to those who took the time! It is really good to see the appreciation my fans have and that does spur me on to do even better for you! If you have any questions I am on Good Reads so throw me your thoughts and I will be happy to answer! Thanks for reading! _________________________ Finally, I am very pleased to say I actually produced a proper website and blog. Covering all my titles, with artwork, sneak peaks and so much more, it is the best place to find out exactly what I am up to and what books are coming soon. Like me on facebook now too! The link is easy enough to find on the page. Enjoy your reads! Alexander Nassau is an established science fiction author and artist with many well known mainstream works to his name, best known for his detailed and strong character driven stories. With a keen scientific mind and a strong attention to detail, he also is a commercial artist with a strong creative drive. Living in the UK, he spends his down time with his family and has something of a passion for classic Volkswagens.

Book preview

Proteus - Ghosts

The Seventh book in the Proteus Series

and the first part of the Natural Selection Saga

Second Edition

Copyright © 2017 / 2018 Alexander Nassau

Published by Alexander Nassau at Smashwords

ISBN: 9781370200719

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any manner without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

"For Nisha

I couldn't leave her lost like that."

See More from the Author on my Blog

Smashwords Edition License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your enjoyment only, then please return to Smashwords.com or your favorite retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Prologue

Chapter One - Return to Insurrection

Chapter Two - Past Mistakes

Chapter Three - Technical Support

Chapter Four - Cacophony of Errors

Chapter Five - Lockdown

Chapter Six - Standoff

Chapter Seven - Things Lost or Forgotten

Chapter Eight - Ghost in the Machine

Chapter Nine - Snow Angel

Chapter Ten - Rights and Privileges

Epilogue

Preview of Proteus Evolution

More Books from the Author

Seltus Shipyard Factfile

Retrospective - Unexpected Arrivals

About the Author

INTRODUCTION

Look up in to the night sky, there is more out there than you could imagine, worlds of creatures so familiar and so strange it would leave you in awe and wonder. Stranger still is that our own world is secretly part of that community, even if most of the population are oblivious to the fact.

On one particular world called Beletrix lives a race of creatures hard to understand. They are a joined race, a partnership of a host and a symbiote. Where life gets more unusual is that the hosts are not all the same species. While their native hosts are a race of nine feet tall aliens called Usha, there are some who have bonded to humans.

Beletrix while being their home world is not where they came from. That world was Alphius Prime, a world where the native life faced the terrible fate to burn in fire. It was this reason the population tried to escape building great ships to flee the demise of their home.

These were not ships like any you could imagine. They were living creatures designed to save their people. While each ship is an individual life in its own right, they share the family name, the classification given to them by their creators.

They are the Proteus class of starship, but things did not go as planned.

It was believed that only the eldest sister and the smallest of the fleet, a quirky ship called Koli managed to escape and searched the stars for three hundred years until she found Earth, a world where a small number of the indigenous intelligent life was capable of bonding with the ten survivors.

The truth was though that Terrik, the flagship of the main evacuation fleet, Terrik barely survived, limping to safe harbour where she stayed for three hundred years, damaged and dying until her sister returned for her, answering her distress call and rescuing the survivors.

The survivors planned to build Terrik a new body, an improved version of her original design, but as usual things never go to plan. They ended up with twins.

With these two new ships, relationships on Earth deteriorating, they revisited a world Koli's crew had settled on only to realise their automated construction drones had been rather busy after they left.

That world was Beletrix, and they arrived home to find the ghost city of Verlon.

At this point you are probably thinking they did a lot, and you would be right. You could easily write several whole books on the subject, if not more.

However, there was one major point missing. What happened to the lost Titan and in a way that is where this story started, on a dark world far distant.

Unexpectedly the survivors on Earth found themselves with a shocking revelation as an utterly unknown ship arrived, a young second generation Proteus class vessel called Saya, carrying a familiar crew and her pilot, Zenni Quinett.

The former pilot of the Titan class Miras had returned on a mission to rescue the crew of Terrik, even if she was a little late, however she brought the news of the fate of Miras and the twelve thousand survivors she carried and a desperate plea for help.

The surprises didn't stop there as she tells the story of Neo Alphius, a world they had settled on only to fall victims to a parasitic plague that afflicted their people reducing them to creatures they had called Necrotites, monsters that were their own people, trapped in a living hell. Perhaps the greatest revelation of all was Saya's origins. She was a naturally conceived and born, a life far surpassing the artificially created Proteus ships.

A rescue plan was formulated to not only cure those afflicted by the plague, but also rescue Saya's mother, Miras. Cutting this quite long story short, they succeeded making new friends along the way and having breathed life back in to Verlon city on Beletrix, Zenni, Miras and Saya finally got the opportunity to rest in the safety of their new home.

Until fate intervened once more that is. During a fated mission to find new life out in the depths of our galaxy, Lunar was attacked by a terrible new foe, the Apeyron.

There is another very long story, but to cut this short the Apeyron were defeated, war halted before it could begin. For Zenni, Saya and her brave friends, they managed to survive, but the costs of this disastrous encounter had left its mark on both sides.

For the Apeyron, the scale of the disaster they face is apparent. Even with their world returned to our galaxy all their efforts have come to nothing with the bold plan to try and save their world, their people have only delayed the inevitable. Apeyra has twenty years left before it will be destroyed. Negotiating with the Alphians, Emperor Takal has made peace with the allied forces and has found they may have made new and unexpected friends. With the Alphians offering to help the Apeyron to create a new Empire, his people are faced with building a new society, one based on change and growth living in harmony with their surroundings. With so little time to evacuate twelve billion from their home and nowhere to go there is tension as these former enemies try to work together.

It has to be said things are not going that well on Beletrix either. For weeks random errors and malfunctions seem to have been plaguing Verlon city pushing the Alphians to their limit however for a few on the world, they still suffer because of the Apeyrons actions. All the Proteus ships mourn the loss of their youngest, Terrik's twin sister Lunar and beyond the fear and mistrust the bulk of the population feel, for these gentle giants there is pain and anger as well.

However what Zenni and Corallis have discovered is set to rock their small group. Behind closed doors the Seleke Council have authorised the construction of a new shipyard facility to create more Proteus ships and while on the surface this may seem to have been a wise decision Zenni fears what it could mean for everyone with the rights and freedoms of her friends being brought in to question. With a potential rebellion brewing not only from the Proteus ships themselves, but also from their Alphian friends and family, there are dark clouds on the horizon.

Beneath the surface of all of this tension there is something far more troubling.

Something is moving unseen, silently infecting every piece of Verlon city.

For one woman though, most of this is not her concern. Her name is Issi Rem. Head of Computer Sciences for the Lyrr institute may sound a grand title and while she is recognised as being their world's leading expert in advanced computing, most of the time all she does is technical support and over the last few weeks she has been progressively getting more grumpy. What with the computer issues, her infinite to do list and the fact she is trying to get the Seltus shipyards advanced computer network operational, she has been getting three hours sleep a night, she is fuelled by coffee and all she really wants to do is sit down with a bowl of noodles, a glass of wine and watch human Anime series without being constantly called out to fix seemingly trivial and childish malfunctions.

Ironically, even if she is utter innocent of it, right now she is probably the most important person on the planet and while she hates everyone around her, muttering incessantly about the various politicians, heroes and glory hogs as she calls them, little does she realise how much of a hero she will become by the time this is all over and how many friends she will make, even if she doesn't want their friendship.

Verlon City is about to have a very dark day and only she can save it.

That is, of course if her head doesn't explode first.

PROLOGUE

As he walked in to the research lab he felt rotten. He missed the silence of Apeyra. For all his life, when he was planet side their world was all but silent. Animal life had long left his world as the cities replaced the continents until there was nothing more than a metal encrusted world rising in to the skies. It was not like this world where all night he had to endure the thousands of unseen creatures in his apartment and beyond its walls. It was unnerving to say the least. He had finally fallen asleep just as the sun was rising and at that point he was rudely forced back to consciousness by something screeching 'nabble' repeatedly, the strange flying creature sitting outside of his window seemed to take great pleasure in doing this.

He missed having his side arm.

Looking around he found Talishia had as usual beaten him in, already in a meeting with two Alphians that seemed to view him warily as they discussed some matter of importance. He ignored them heading over to the side grabbing a mug and the hot pot of brown liquid, throwing some sugar and milk in to the mug. This world had many new experiences but considering the lack of sleep he was getting, this concoction was a wonderful and addictive substitute for sleep.

Come over and have a look at this Tath, Talishia called out as he glanced over to her, the two Alphians stood next to her frowning.

Talishia, this project is classified at the highest level, one muttered to her in a quiet tone obviously unnerved by the fact he was an Apeyron, one of the race that had threatened everything they held dear.

And Tath is my student and assistant who has been granted full security clearance by the Grand Council herself, she snapped back as he shuffled his way over dozily, considering the screen before them blinking as he tried to focus his eyes.

Propulsion systems? he questioned recognising the basics of what was laid out on the monitor.

Quite so. It's based on my work for the hybrid ion drive engine however seems these lot have come up with some quite radical refinement, she commented looking to him, Can you see what I'm on about?

He scratched his head trying to shake the fatigue from his mind as he looked over the design work before shrugging, evoking an irritated sighed from her as she rolled her eyes pouting at him.

Seems to be different from the engineering designs I know from Apeyra, he mused taking a closer look, It looks almost organic.

Not as dumb as you look, Talishia sneered back giving him a wry smile, You are correct, it is organic. Seems these lot have come up with a method to grow an hybrid ion engine rather than physically construct it, although I have some design concerns. There are issues with the radiation shielding and thermal tolerance however overall this is a very neat and elegant piece of design work.

Would you be able to give us feedback and guidance on this? one of the scientists questioned, pensively glancing to him, It is a priority matter for the Seleke Council.

Few simple tweaks and it should be viable, she muttered back as he considered her reaction, I have to say though don't play me for a fool. I can see the organic conduits feeding and controlling the engine that you have tried to hide. This is Proteus isn't it Liora?

I am not authorised to say, she replied hesitantly. Considering your experience and wisdom though, I wanted my old mentor's thoughts and insights.

Bloody stupid secrets, I thought we had left that behind, she muttered shaking her head letting out a slow irritated sigh. Fine, I will look in to it for you, although if you are looking at growing organically any other sections of Proteus' inorganic systems you may want to have me to give it a once over. That said, you will not be able to grow a null core. They will require precision engineering and materials not readily available.

Although I can neither confirm or deny your theory, if hypothetically we were looking at those elements and systems I would say we have already signed off the design work, Liora replied meekly looking visibly flustered, It's just this one element that has been causing us problems.

I will have the proposed alterations over to you this morning, she muttered as Liora and her colleagues nodded to Talishia thankfully before heading to the door and leaving them alone.

I am not sure I understand what that was all about, he commented as the door closed.

Pieces adding together my young apprentice, she sighed shaking her head, I have been hearing whispers though the corridors of the Lyrr Institute before we even met your people, rumours about a new facility under construction beyond the city next to the Verlon Spaceport, next generation bioengineering research taking place behind closed doors. That conversation and this ion drive design has only confirmed my suspicions. The Seleke Council are planning to create new Proteus ships, but everything is pointing to the fact these are far beyond the original design theory. If what Liora said is true, this next generation of Proteus ships will be effectively self sustaining life forms.

I thought you constructed Proteus?

In a way Tath, but our methods are probably beyond your understanding. Apeyron technology is based around the physical construction of ships, pure and solid engineering however Proteus ships are not created that way. They are grown like any biological life, but they have inorganic systems that supplement them. The reactor cores and ion drive engines are just two examples. These new ships sound like their need for inorganic components will be limited. They could in theory be independent and require little physical engineering work, she replied frowning a little before standing up.

Right, she announced marching over the lab to the cage on the far side, slipping her hands in to the metal gloves, Time to see how my lovely little balls of fluff are this morning.

Opening the top she took one of the balls of fur and teeth out as it seemed to purr in her hand.

You are such a cutie, she purred stroking it as a long pink tongue licked the gloves, its razor sharp teeth glinting in the light quite disturbingly.

I still don't understand what those things are either, he muttered frowning that those bizarre creatures she was lavishing her affection on.

You know Fluffy? she questioned as he considered the massive Kinar Beast that stalked around the spaceport, These are baby Kinars, although I have tweaked their genetic code. Fluffy is lovely and while she is a handful I thought it would be nice to bring her species back. These little cuties will not be as large as she will be when she is an adult, maybe waist height.

You are telling me that Fluffy is not an adult? he exclaimed in shock, putting his coffee down on the table.

Oh come on, she is only five years old, Talishia replied with a laugh, When she is fully grown she will be at least twice as large as she is now. She is only still a pup.

He tried not to think about Fluffy towering over everyone and licking them to death as Talishia put the ball of fluff back in the cage, getting some human canned food from the side, opening the tin, putting the contents in to a polished if chewed metal bowl, the cage almost shaking as the balls of fluff got excited making the cutest yipping noises.

So, time to get our day started. What's on the agenda for today? she asked putting the bowl in carefully as the ten little creatures devoured the food, the cage rattling violently.

He gave the cage a hesitant glance before grabbing his personal data pad from the side opening the schedule looking over the contents shaking his head sighing softly.

You have a bollocking from Councillor Medor from the Agricultural division at nine, he announced flatly trying not to frown at her.

Ah, that would be for reintroducing Horan's to our world. Our farms have been having issues with insects and as amusing as Horan's are, they are excellent pest control, she said shrugging her shoulders dismissively.

Those are the creatures that explode when you stare at them aren't they? he questioned trying not to smile, Talisha grinning back at him as he returned his gaze back to the pad, You have a bollocking with Nessa Missani at ten, something about you stealing genetic sequencing equipment.

Girl's got to have a hobby and while I am a well respected engineer, how else was I going to bring back some of the life from Alphius Prime?

He rolled his eyes looking at the various pieces of high tech equipment scattered around the lab realising she had 'borrowed' them, something she seemed to be quite good at.

After that you are free until two this afternoon when I assume you have another bollocking. You have a summons from Grand Arbiter Rasa to answer allegations you were trying to smuggle something called bananas in from Earth, he continued curiously looking at her.

I refute that allegation completely, she replied defensively walking over to the window looking out over the city, Bananas are a banned narcotic and I would never do such a thing. However you can't blame me for being curious as to what the effect was on Usha.

I see now why Rasa asked me to keep an eye on you, he sighed shaking his head.

She stood quietly for a moment before looking over to him with purpose.

Send out an email to everyone I have meetings with, she announced with that familiar naughty glint in her eyes, Tell them I am dead and regret that I can't meet them to discuss these things.

I don't think that would be appropriate, he sighed rolling his eyes, Perhaps if you were to say you are in the middle of a sensitive experiment it would be more believable.

Whatever, she muttered dismissively, marching over to her desk looking at the engine design on the screen, First job is solving these numpties problems over these organic ion drive engines and then I think we are going on a field trip, for research purposes of course.

Why do I get the feeling we are about to get in to a great deal of trouble?

Trouble... no trouble at all, she said innocently, Just going to go over to that new facility they have built over on the far side of the spaceport, break in and have a look around. Nothing wrong with that and should be most enlightening if it is what I think it is.

As the door pushed open he nearly jumped as the looming black figure entered, looking at him curiously before licking his hand purring under her breath before bouncing over to the cage letting out a soft rumbling purr that echoed through his body, the little balls of fluff happy to see her as the cage seemed to bounce around, the softest sound of yipping and purring filling the air.

Morning Fluffy, Talishia called out almost absently as she absorbed herself in her work.

As the frightening Kinar